By BBN Staff: The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), today signed the Technical Cooperation Agreement for the project entitled “Proadapt Belize – Increasing Climate Change Resilience and Related Business Opportunities” with the objective of increasing private sector climate resilience in Belize.

The project is funded by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the IDB Group through the PROADAPT funding structure.

PROADAPT was created to pilot and support the development of new and innovative methodologies, tools and business models to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Latin America and the Caribbean increase their climate resilience and take advantage of related businesses.

The project will develop practical business models and tools to help MSMEs in Belize anticipate and prepare for climate-related threats to their assets, value chains and local communities, to become more climate-resilient, and to tap into an increasing number of market opportunities as risks from climate change increase.

“MSMEs are vital to employment and livelihoods in Belize, however this sector is also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change”, said Dr. Cassandra Rogers, Country Representative of the IDB.

“By strengthening the role that MSMEs play in climate adaptation, we can help build more resilient, secure communities.”

The expected impact of the project is improvement in the resilience of buildings, flood-proofing of waste and waste water management systems, protection of coastal areas, and diversification of energy services with renewable sources to name a few.

“Sustainability is a strategic priority for the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the future of Belize’s private sector. We are excited about this partnership with the IDB and what it means for Belize’s future… increased opportunity to generate economic growth while at the same time, scaling up adaptation interventions.”, stated Kim Aikman, Chief Executive Officer of the BCCI.

The project has a total value of US $341,500 of which US $203,000 is from the IDB/MIF and the remaining US $138,500 is counterpart funding from the BCCI and its primary stakeholders.

The execution period for this project is two and a half years and the BCCI is the executing agency.

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